Mexican Whip-poor-will Sounds

Overview
ID info
Life History
Maps
Sounds

Song
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San Luis Potosí, June 07, 2016Recorded by Andrew Spencer / Macaulay Library
Song
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Arizona, May 20, 2008Recorded by Gerrit Vyn / Macaulay Library
Song and calls
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Arizona, May 02, 2018Recorded by Tom Johnson / Macaulay Library
Calls
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Santa Ana, April 16, 2004Recorded by Mark Robbins / Macaulay Library

Sounds provided by Macaulay Library.
Listen to more sounds of this species from the ML archive.

Songs

Mexican Whip-poor-wills sing a continuous, chanting "whip-poor-will" heard most often just after sunset and again right before dawn. Some birds sing throughout the night during peak breeding season. The song is lower pitched and has a burrier quality than the Eastern Whip-poor-will's song; these vocal differences helped highlight Mexican Whip-poor-will’s status as a separate species.

Calls

Mexican Whip-poor-wills’ most common call is a short vocalization described as “quirt” or “grip.” Both sexes give this call, which is used as a contact call between pair members, as a mild alarm, and in other contexts. At the end of a song bout, Mexican Whip-poor-wills sometimes give a short “growl-cluck” call sequence, with low-pitched growls mixed with short cluck notes.

Other Sounds

Mexican Whip-poor-wills produce a clapping sound with their wings. Singing birds sometimes accelerate the rate of their singing, suddenly switch to a growl-cluck sequence, and then follow that with several wing claps. The function of wing claps has not been studied in Mexican Whip-poor-wills, but in other nightjar species these mechanical sounds are associated with territorial defense and courtship.